Doctor of Pharmacy/Direct Entry
Combining the best in classroom, laboratory, and experiential learning under the direction of a world-class faculty, right in the heart of Boston.
With an average class size of 145 students, the School of Pharmacy provides the personal attention of a small program backed by the resources and opportunities of a large university—the best of both worlds. As part of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, the School of Pharmacy embraces an interdisciplinary emphasis that reflects today’s team approach to health care. State-of-the-art labs, high-tech classrooms, and affiliations with more than 120 teaching sites, provide our students with the required tools for innovative and interactive learning.
Our students promote and ensure the safe and effective use of drugs and provide medication therapy management services. In addition to preparing and dispensing prescribed medications, our students provide information to patients about medications and their uses; advise physicians, other prescribers, and other healthcare practitioners on medication selection, dosages, interactions, and adverse effects; and monitor patient responses to drug therapy.
Our students are well equipped to provide patient care services in a variety of settings. Most of our graduates work in community pharmacies or in healthcare facilities such as hospitals and ambulatory clinics. Additional practice opportunities exist in health maintenance organizations, private practice groups, longterm-care facilities, home healthcare, the Public Health Service, the armed services, and law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Graduates may also find employment in drug development, marketing and research within the pharmaceutical industry, colleges of pharmacy, and professional association management. In addition, many of our graduates go on to pharmacy practice residencies, fellowships, and leading graduate programs. The pharmacy curriculum includes introductory (cooperative education) and advanced pharmacy practice experiences. These pharmacy practice experiences are provided primarily under the direct supervision of qualified pharmacist preceptors and occasionally with other qualified healthcare professionals.
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Unique Features
- The only PharmD co-op program in the country
- Students complete both Introductory pharmacy practice experiences and advanced pharmacy practice experiences
- Graduates will be eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination TM (NAPLEX®).
Program Objectives
The goal of the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum is to prepare graduates for the present and future practice of pharmacy and the advancement of the profession by providing a strong foundation in science and practice that stresses integration and application. Graduates will be prepared to deliver patient-centered care, provide safe and effective medication therapy management, work as members of interprofessional teams, and make significant contributions to contemporary healthcare environments.
Accreditation Description
The Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program at Northeastern University School of Pharmacy is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education through June 30, 2024. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE (until 2003 known as the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education) was established in 1932 for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy, and in 1975 its scope was broadened to include accreditation of providers of continuing pharmacy education. The mission of ACPE is to assure and advance quality in pharmacy education. ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors is appointed by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Pharmacists Association, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (three appointments each), and the American Council on Education (one appointment). Since the inception of its accreditation agency recognition program in 1952, ACPE has been recognized continuously by the U.S. Department of Education, and it gained recognition by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation in April 2004. State boards of pharmacy require that licensure applicants from the United States have graduated from an accredited pharmacy degree program to be eligible to sit for the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX®).
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Requirements
- Application
- Application fee
- Two letters of recommendation (recommended sources: pharmacist, supervisor)
- Transcripts from all institutions attended
- Personal statement
- TOEFL or IELTS for applicants who do not hold a degree from a U.S. institution and whose native language is not English
- PCAT scores are optional
- Interview
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Undergraduate prerequisites
Admissions Dates
Admissions deadline: May 1
General Requirements
To progress into the subsequent semester of professional courses, students must receive a grade of C or better in all PHMD and PHSC courses, as well as in any course completed to fulfill the professional elective requirement.
For pharmacy students, an unsatisfactory grade (U) in a co-op will be counted as a professional course deficiency.
Students who incur an incomplete grade in a prerequisite course may not progress into the subsequent courses(s). Any exceptions will be determined by protocols established by the program, after consultation with the student's academic adviser.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience
Semester 3
Semester 4
Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience
Semester 5
Semester 6, 7, or 8
Semester 6
Semester 7
Semester 8
Semester 9, 10, 11
Complete 36 credit hours of Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience from the following:
Elective Requirements
Open Electives
A minimum of 6 semester hours of open electives is required. Additional electives may be required to fulfill the total semester hours for your program.
Professional Elective
Complete at least 2 semester hours from the following:
CAEP 3480 - Counseling Theories and Practice
HLTH 1010 - From the Community to the Intensive Care Unit: Approaching Interdisciplinary Research in the Elderly
HLTH 1510 - Introduction to Healthcare Ethics
HLTH 2100 - Interprofessional Ethics for Individual and Population Health
HLTH 2302 - Alternative Medicine
HSCI 1105 - Human Nutrition
HSCI 2350 - Advanced Nutrition in Health and Disease
HSCI 2500 - Public Health Nutrition in the Community
NRSG 1205 - Wellness
PHMD 4991 - Research
PHMD 4992 - Directed Study
PHSC 4992 - Directed Study
PHTH 1270 - Introduction to Global Health
SLPA 1101 - Introduction to Communication Disorders
SLPA 1555 - Communication Disorders in Movies
Please note: This curriculum is for marketing purposes only and is subject to change. Official curriculum can be found within the course catalog.
The proximity to Boston’s world renowned healthcare institutions provides the backdrop for a cooperative/experiential education program that is second to none. Our affiliations with such institutions provide our students with a variety of exceptional introductory (IPPE) and advanced (APPE) pharmacy practice experiences. At the heart of the Northeastern model is the cooperative education program, the only program of its kind among U.S. pharmacy schools. Co-ops are four-month experiences that fulfill the Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience, which is required in all pharmacy schools.
Our Faculty
Our faculty represents a wide cross-section of professional practices and fields ranging from finance to education to biomedical science to management to the U.S. military. They serve as mentors and advisors and collaborate alongside students to solve the most pressing global challenges facing established and emerging markets.
You can see the faculty associated with the Doctor of Pharmacy program here.
By enrolling in Northeastern, you gain access to a network of more than 255,000 alumni and 3,350+ employer partners, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and global nongovernmental organizations. Our current students and faculty across strategically located regional locations further foster a lifelong, global community of learning and mentoring.
Whether it’s placement in a post-graduate fellowship or residency, passing the NAPLEX exam, securing employment, or pursuing an advanced degree, Northeastern PharmD students are well prepared and poised to succeed.